A Very Tragic Story
by Skytaur
Summary: We've all met her, but who is she? How did she die? First Ranma fic, please R
1. Default Chapter

As you can probably guess, I don't own Ranma 1/2. I do, however, own my original characters  
  
and my main character's personality because Takahashi-sama has grossly neglected her. You can  
  
sue me if you like, but I warn you, the cost of getting a lawyer will be 9,647.83 times what you  
  
could hope to get out of me. (Give or take)  
  
As always, this story is dedicated to my lady. Without her, my words and soul are empty (Who's  
  
the corny one NOW Kuno? MWAA HA HA HA HA).  
  
A Very Tragic Story  
  
Chapter 1: an ironic announcement  
  
We all know that there is a very tragic story of a girl who drowned over 1500 years ago,  
  
but what is it? Who was this red headed beauty and how did she come to the springs in the first  
  
place? Come closer dear reader and you shall learn.  
  
Middle of nowhere, China: Approximately the year 493.  
  
Dawn of a beautiful spring day. A young girl of 16 years stepped out of her parents home  
  
to watch the sunrise. She stretched and wiped the last clouds of sleep from her eyes. The sun  
  
shined off of her flowing red hair as she started her morning chores on her parents small farm.   
  
She gathered the nights firewood, drew a few buckets of water from the near by well, and took a  
  
days worth of feed to the grateful livestock.  
  
She was just about to grab her basket and head down to the village market when a voice  
  
called out to her.  
  
"Akari, can you come in please, your father and I want to talk to you."  
  
"I'm on my way." Akari dropped what she was doing and ran into her parents house. Her  
  
mother and father were sitting in the front of their little farmhouse looking very serious for   
  
some reason. The daughter sat down in front of them and waited for whatever they were about to   
  
say.  
  
"My darling child, you've grown from our baby girl into a fine young woman," Akari  
  
blushed as her father said this. She knew she was beautiful but she was a modest girl and didn't  
  
like to flaunt her well developed body, much to the chagrin of the local boys, "and your mother  
  
and I have decided that it's time for you to take a husband. So we've started speaking to the  
  
parents of potential suitors in order to find the best match for you."  
  
WHAT! Akari thought as she stared at her parents. Usually marriages were arranged  
  
when the children were still six or seven years old. Of course, that was among the nobility   
  
while they were mere peasants. Out loud she said.  
  
"Oh, Ok."  
  
To be continued  
  
I know it's a short chapter. But don't worry, I already have this story all planned out and I'll write more soon. It may be a few days since I've got final exams this week.  
  
Please read and review. 


	2. So whose the guy?

I don't own Ranma, I don't own the MGM grand hotel and casino, I don't own a Gundam. I'm  
  
just a little bitty undergrad who owns . . . nothing. So please don't sue.  
  
To my reviewers: Thanks, this is the most reviews I've ever gotten.   
  
To answer your questions: No, I didn't know about Ryoga's girlfriend so the name thing is just a  
  
coincidence. As for the pool turning you into your own sister, I never heard about that either. I remember the comments Nibiki made when Ranma's mother showed up, I just assumed she was  
  
teasing (or extorting) poor Ranma. I hate to use the "I'm the author and I said so" line, but for this story it's one girl fits all.  
  
Wait a minute . . . Ryoga gets a _Girlfriend??!!_ Poor girl  
  
Chapter 2: What criteria are they using???  
  
The next few weeks were the most interesting of Akari's life. The fathers of all the eligible young men in the village and beyond came by to speak to her parents, it appeared that rumors of her beauty had preceded her. She wasn't allowed to watch the interviews herself, but she would listen through the door to her bedroom. Mostly they were discussing matters of doweries and the "measurements" of the prospective grooms.  
  
Akari found most of this to be incredibly boring. Her parents would arrange for her  
  
dowery, and she didn't care how tall her husband was. There were advantages to being able to  
  
wrap herself up in the arms of a large man and tuck her head under his chin, but there were good  
  
things to be said for being able to look her mate in the eye without straining her neck. It didn't  
  
matter.  
  
When she had told her friends in town that her parents were searching for her husband  
  
they were alarmed that she wasn't speaking to any of the interviewees herself. But she trusted her parents and knew they loved her and would select the best possible match for her.  
  
Eventually, Akari got fed up listening to one old man after another saying such glowing  
  
things about their offspring. Most of which was probably just sales pitch. Her interest did perk up when a couple of mothers from the nearby Amazon village came by on behalf of their sons, but everyone involved knew that Akari wasn't cut out to be an amazon. Her farm work kept her in  
  
good shape, but she was no martial artist. But she was still flattered by the offer.  
  
Before too long, she just relaxed and indulged in he favorite hobby, reading. Her family  
  
wasn't wealth enough to own that many books, but what they had was enough for Akari. She  
  
honestly hoped her new husbands family owned a library. So, leaving the matter of fiancees to  
  
her loved ones, Akari relaxed into the world of the printed page.  
  
Several days later:  
  
'Finally,' Akari thought, her parents had just told her that her chosen fiancee was on his  
  
way over and would be there within the hour. Akari squealed and dashed into her room to don  
  
her finest festival dress. She wanted to look her best for this.  
  
The next half hour was a flurry of anticipation, panic, pacing, and her mother chasing  
  
around after her and trying to brush out a stray tangle in her hair. The entire house ground to a halt as soon as the sound of horses came into ear shot. Akari paused for a moment to collect  
  
herself. She was about to meet the man she would spend the rest of her life with. She was  
  
exciter, nervous, overjoyed, and terrified all at the same time. Her mother put a loving hand on  
  
her shoulder.  
  
"Are you ready dear?"  
  
'Yesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyesnoyesno.'  
  
Out loud: "Yes mother, of course I am."  
  
There was a polite knock on the door before the newest member of the family entered the  
  
room. Akari had her eyes closed out of fear, her fears were justified.  
  
'Roba!!!' She'd seen this man in town and had thought he was descended from a hog. He  
  
was less than 5 feet tall and over 3 feet wide. His nose was larger than his mouth. Plus, he had a greasy skin that was vaguely reminiscent of several types of toad.  
  
Akari just stood there slack jawed as her fiancee looked her over like a piece of meat. She  
  
might well have not bothered with the gown, his eyes were looking right through it. She was  
  
used to lustful glares from men, let's face it, she was a knockout, but this was the first time she had ever felt . . . dirty. Roba finished his inspection and turned to her father.  
  
"Yes, this one will do. Shall we complete the transaction. I wish to begin enjoying my  
  
new acquisition."  
  
How could they do this?! He was a horrible man who was sure to treat her like brood  
  
mare. He had no personality traits worth mentioning. And . . . and . . . and, and his parents were the richest in the region. Akari felt like slapping herself. Since she was an only child, her parents wanted a son-in-law that could provide for them in their old age.  
  
There was no way Akari was going to take this laying down. There just HAD to be a way  
  
out of this. If there was one word to describe Akari it would be inventive. She was a lot smarter than her soft spoken nature hinted at. Her wheels started turning on the most important challenge of her life.  
  
To be continued  
  
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next time we find out just how our heroine plans to dodge the  
  
fiancee from hell. 


End file.
